Lottery opens for 24 affordable co-ops in Hamilton Heights, starting at $100K

In Hamilton Heights, a co-op building opened a lottery this week for affordable apartments available for purchase. On the corner of West 142nd Street and Riverside Drive, the pre-war building was acquired by the city in 2003 and sold to a nonprofit group to rehabilitate and turn it into affordable housing as part of the city’s currently-paused Third Party Transfer (TPT) program. Earlier this month, a lottery opened for 24 units at 644 Riverside Drive, priced from $100,794 for a one-bedroom to $156,331 for a five-bedroom.

The Park Towers HDFC apartments available for purchase have been fully upgraded, with new stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. The upper floors boast great views of the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge.

New Yorkers must earn 120 percent of the area median income to be considered eligible, which ranges from $70,462 annually for a single-person household to $303,360 for an 11-person household. Buyers must be first-time homeowners, have at least 10 percent for a down payment, and plan to live at the residence full-time.

There are nine one-bedrooms, nine two-bedrooms, two three-bedrooms, three four-bedrooms, and one five-bedroom unit available through the lottery. Amenities include a shared laundry room and an elevator.

Maintenance fees range from $1,209/month for one-bedrooms to $2,102/month for five-bedrooms.

Established in 1996, the TPT program allows the city’s Department of Finance and Department of Housing Preservation and Development to foreclose on financially and physically distressed rentals and transfer them to a third party to rehabilitate and turn them into cooperatives, if the tenants are interested.

A partnership between the nonprofit Urban Homesteading Assistance Board and Settlement Housing Fund, dubbed SHUHAB, took over 644 Riverside Drive and its sister property at 640 Riverside Drive in 2005. Tenants of the run-down buildings agreed to be part of the program with the promise that they could purchase their apartments for $2,500. Renovations on No. 644 began in 2006, but took more than eight years to complete, as DNAinfo reported at the time.

As of October 2024, No. 640 has not been converted to a tenant-owned co-op as promised two decades ago because of construction delays, according to the Columbia Spectator.

The city paused TPT in 2019 after complaints that the program disproportionately seized debt-ridden properties owned by Black and Brown homeowners and landlords. Council Member Pierina Sanchez introduced legislation this year to reform the program to expand the definition of distressed properties and add protections for smaller landlords who have been disproportionately targeted in the past.

Last April, the city seized its first building from a negligent landlord in seven years. As 6sqft reported, the 49-unit building at 2201-2205 Davidson Avenue in the Bronx was foreclosed on after a decade of tenant organizing. The landlord, David Kornitzer, owed $28 million in back taxes, emergency repairs, and other fees.

Nonprofit developer Neighborhood Restore and private manager Lemle and Wolff are renovating the building and helping current tenants transition to homeownership through permanently affordable co-ops.

An informational webinar on the co-op and application process for 644 Riverside will be held on Wednesday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m. Register here. Seminar attendance is not mandatory to purchase.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the co-ops until May 26, 2026. Find more details on how to apply here. A 20 percent preference is given to applicants who live in Manhattan Community District 9, and 10 percent for city employees or military veterans.

Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.